Tabor City man sentenced to 16-20 years in 2019 murder case
COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - The Office of District Attorney Jon David announced on March 27 that Lakeithy Keller, of Tabor City, has pled guilty to second-degree murder in a 2019 shooting case.
According to the announcement, Keller received an active sentence of 189-239 months, approximately 15.75-20 years, for the murder of Mitchell Allen Smith.
“Detectives tracked down several leads, including that the Defendant made a phone call from a cell phone approximately one-half mile from the wrecked vehicle. When Detectives questioned Defendant about the murder, he admitted to being in the vehicle and changed his story several times about the events that occurred,” states the announcement from the office.
“This case was difficult because it was based upon circumstantial evidence. However, investigators with the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office did a thorough job uncovering what transpired and pieced together the events of that night. We are pleased that the Defendant is being held accountable for the murder of Mitchell Allen Smith,” David said.
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